The wind turbine at Ness Point in Lowestoft, is Lowestoft’s first and so far only commercial wind turbine in Suffolk and is officially the tallest wind turbine in UK.
The Ness Point wind turbine in Lowestoft has been aptly named “Gulliver” afte the hero of Jonathan Swift’s novel Gulliver’s Travels by local residents in a poll before its erection and is capable of producing a whopping 2.75MW of electricity. That level of electricity production is enough to supply over 1500 homes and will save in excess of 6000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions each year.
The Ness Point Wind Turbine was completed in January 2005 and is situated on UK’s most Easterly point, Ness Point. The project was undertaken by Lowestoft’s own leading engineering company, SLP Engineering Limited.
The Ness Point Turbine demonstrates Lowestoft’s own commitment to the use of renewable energy and has also enabled the SLP group of companies to refine the skills of their own workforce in response to the challenges presented in the wake of this new industry boom.
On June the 8th 2008 it was European Wind Day 2008, so wind farms across the UK, (including Lowestoft’s Gulliver) were opened up to members of the public and representatives from the renewable energy industry were present to answer any questions visitors had about wind energy and to also provide useful energy saving ideas and information.
Lowestoft’s Ness Point Wind Turbine facts:
- Wind turbine construction began: December 2004
- Gulliver began generating electricity: January 2005
- The Hub height (turbine base to rotor hub): 80m / 262ft
- The Tip height (turbine base to blade tip): 126m / 413ft
- Blade Size ( X 3 ): 10 tonnes each, 44.8m / 147ft long
- Wind Turbine Rotor diameter: 92m / 301ft
- The Nacelle (houses the gearbox and control systems): 83 tonnes, 11.2m / 37ft long, 3.3m /11ft wide, 3.8m / 12.5ft high